"Digital-signage advertising revenue in the United States increased from $73.6m in 2003 to $102.5m last year, according to market analyst Frost and Sullivan – a year-on-year rise of nearly 40 percent."--aka

I love tabloids. "In a move that leads us to believe that they may in fact be on drugs, Vodafone has announced that it is to release a hybrid mobile game, tamagotchi and screensaver called Space Boy," writes the Inquirer. "Mobies, as they’re being called, respond to a variety of things a user does with his or her phone. From dancing excitedly when the phone rings, or receiving a letter when an SMS or MMS arrives, through to fixing an aerial when the network signal is weak or becoming tired when the battery is low."

Dunno, this may be as big as ringtones, especially if these pets can be customized by users a la the Sims. If this is any indication, Space Boy isn't alone. The V-Girl has just been upgraded to her second version (read more), and Mobeon has released avatars that live in your cell phone's voice mail menu (read more yet).

Promo magazine asks marketing directors about the technologies they find most promising. Besides everyone's favorites - podcasting, blogs, texting - these people talk about responsive displays by Reactrix, TiVo coupons, in-store TV networks. The words of ultimate wizdom: "Make friends with geeks. It's important to know people who market high-tech products who can bridge the gap between tech speak and marketing speak." Maybe I should copyright this blog's tagline before it becomes the next buzz phrase.-- via norev

Adliterate mentions a study (no direct link) that shows that fast-forwarded commercials can actually be more effective in creating brand recognition than ads played at normal speed because the information is processed at a subconscious level (and, I guess, because whoever is fast-forwarding is actually staring at the screen instead of rushing to the bathroom). An insightful comment to the post explains the low-involvement processing theory and points to the book "The Hidden Power of Advertising."

Howard Sherman and Malinche Entertainment are bringing the old-fashioned text-based advernture games (like those choose-your-own-ending fiction books) to iPods. The first title is called The First Mile and costs $9.95.

"The First Mile, as well as existing Malinche titles Pentari: First Light and Greystone, have also been released for cell phones using the PalmOS or Symbian operating systems. At some point, Sherman expects one portable system to become standardized, but until then, he is marketing to every group."-- Wired

I still remember the days when videophones were a thing of the future and a staple of just about any sci-fi movie. Here's your sign of the changing times: Packet8 is paying to place its real video phones in a sci-fi show.

"The Sci Fi Channel is giving videophones a new name via a product placement deal on the network's popular science fiction series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. The videophone, developed by communications service provider 8x8, Inc., will be featured in upcoming episodes of the hit TV shows. Through the product placement deal, viewers can learn how to use the device."-- Promo Magazine

Offtopic:"Vardan Kushnir, notorious for sending spam to each and every citizen of Russia who appeared to have an e-mail, was found dead in his Moscow apartment on Sunday, Interfax reported Monday. He died after suffering repeated blows to the head. Kushnir, 35, headed the English learning centers the Center for American English, the New York English Centre and the Centre for Spoken English, all known to have aggressive Internet advertising policies in which millions of e-mails were sent every day."-- MosNews

"A projector on a tall tripod shows images of raindrops hitting the ground and making ripples, in hopes that people will enter the "rainy" area and hold out their palms.A camera tracks the entrants' movements and sends the data to connected computers. Then the projector shoots out a round-shaped advertisement -- which can post words such as "SALE" -- right onto their hands."--PhysOrg

"Massive has launched full motion video and audio ads from Panasonic and Channel 4, a leading UK broadcaster. The Panasonic and Channel 4 spots are running in Anarchy Online, a multiplayer online game. The video and audio ads start playing on billboards, plasma screens or other appropriate locations when gamers enter select areas or zones within the game. This new advertising element can be used to dynamically deliver television equivalent 15-second advertising spots as well as audio messaging into the game environment."-- press release

Rant time. In April, a certain very big media organization ran a contest at Sloan, where we had to come up with a new and financially sustainable content distribution mechanism for, among other things, mobile media. My suggestion was to create a network of content vending machines, like in Japan. They didn't like it.

Now, "last month, 20th Century Fox signed a deal with Loews Cineplex Entertainment to distribute movie trailers, ring tones and pictures through kiosks in three Loews theaters, in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The promotional material can be picked up by anyone with a cell phone equipped to handle Bluetooth."--CNET

TNT promotes its new "Wanted" series through online comics that are neither static scans nor single-frame flash animations - the first truly interactive comic book I've seen. Turn down the volume if you are in the office because the site is loud.-- via AdJab

"Hitachi presented a 13.1-inch monochrome electronic paper featuring a wireless LAN (WLAN) system and a secondary battery pack. The company is planning to place it on the market at a lower price than LCD panels in around April 2006, targeting applications such as signboards at public buildings."-- TechOn

"Bluetooth marketing uses the short-range network Bluetooth to send messages to consumers' cell phones within range of the originating equipment, be that a Bluetooth server or another Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone.

Nokia is to launch one of the first mobile video Bluetooth marketing campaigns in the UK - even as the channel courts legal controversy. Lawyers, trade bodies and agencies have expressed concerns over the status of Bluetooth marketing, with such communications being seen as spam by consumers."--New Media Age

"The Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank will introduce slot games that run while the cash machines process transactions. Despite the lack-lustre prizes, the Bank claims the move will add a degree of suspense to getting your money out."-- The Inquirer, Yahoo

"Sony will release a software update for its PlayStation Portable that will add several new functions to the handheld gaming device, including the ability to browse the Internet and download TV programs by connecting a PSP with the new software to a PSP portal site that will offer TV programs and other content."--MacWorld

Hitachi developed a mirror that doubles as a computer display. "The mirror combines a half mirror and a diffusion film to directly display digital information (text, photos, video, tv shows, websites, flash movies etc.) on a mirror surface using an LCD projector. This technology, called Miragraphy, also integrates sensors, RFID readers, barcode readers, cameras, etc. So, the mirror can automatically respond when people are aruond and personalize digital contents based on their sensed identities."--RFID in Japan

Massive's CEO Mitch Davis in an interview for Inside Branded Entertainment:"Massive has defined an advertising unit in a video game that suits the game. In TV, there are 30,15, and 10 second ad units. In video games, a 15 second cumulative ad unit of a minimum size in a minimum angle to the screen has been defined. This ad is not counted as an impression until it hits all of those thresholds, and is very much tailored to the game."video | highlights

“It’s tough to measure. Eyeballs see it at the airport. If you count who sees if from office buildings or on approach, it’s nearly impossible to gauge. But recall is amazing. People see it one time and remember it literally for years. According to a study conducted by Air France, 82 percent of those recalling the ad attributed it to the airline.”

"On Thursday, two technologically savvy porno production houses, GLAYZ and h.m.p., released a total of four adult UMD's." Here are the reviews from Tokyopia (office-safe). Another indication that PSP enters the mainstream as a media platform.--via Gizmodo

Media Post writes: "Case studies too numerous to count are showing surprising results from the targeted delivery of "out-of-context"online ads - delivering ads to qualified consumers within content areas that are "out-of-context" for the offer."

I'd say it depends on how people get to these content areas in the first place. A good chunk of this blog's traffic comes from Google's search results - these people click mostly on ads related to their search. On the other hand, there are a few fairly constant readers who work in ad agencies (IP domain lookup tells me that). Are they interested in iPods and DVD players? Not if we judge by the click-throughs for the gadget ads. Anyway, here are some thoughts from AdJab that brought the subject up.

Podcasts just got a bit more than linear non-scannable low-usability sound files they used to be. "Enhanced podcasts are AAC encoded audio files (m4a or m4b, m4p) with new data inside them that can be time based, like an image or a URL to appear at a certain time." Make Magazine knows everything about how to make one (via Random Culture).

And AdFreak wonders about the maximum length of a podcast ad. 15 secs, no more.

"A research report reveals that over half the potential users of interactive advertising in the UK are not engaging with interactive TV because there are either too few incentives or they are still daunted by the prospect."--InformITV via unmediated

"Half of Americans are reported to use prepaid telephone cards. Each time a card is used, the consumer has to follow the audio directions to place a call. Now advertisers can interrupt those directions twice, with five seconds of branding and promotions. Those messages can be reinforced with print copy on both sides of the card." Company: Pocket Billboards-- Media Life Magazine

Betsy Book, who last year wrote about in-game advertising, has published a new paper titled "Virtual World Business Brands: Entrepreneurship and Identity in Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming Environments."

Quote: "While most in-game advertising efforts involve established corporations working with game administrators to deliver targeted ad campaigns or the development of separate branded worlds, players who frequent some MMOGs are taking matters into their own hands by creating original brands for avatar clothing, virtual vehicles, event hosting services and more."

"From July 12 to October 12 '05, Sprint PCS subscribers will be able to send a text message to a landline phone. Text messages, which are converted to voice, can be sent to any landline phone in the United States. When the person answers his or her home phone, they will "hear" the text message you sent and can reply back to you with one of the available responses. You will also receive a text message on your Sprint PCS Phone when a response is sent back to you."--via Engadget

"Behavioral targeting advertising is projected to increase by 65 percent in 2006, as reported by interactive advertising agency media directors and planners who were attending the May iMedia Agency Summit in Florida. Nearly 20.8 percent of all media purchases in 2006 are expected to be behavioral targeting purchases."-- iMedia Connection via MarketingVox

The "book radio", designed for a class at Ivrea, "takes the mental model of a physical book where user can browse by flipping pages, read by keeping a page open, and create a reminder of a specific page by placing a bookmark. Each page of the "book radio" represents a frequency. The user flips pages to scan the frequency spectrum; opens to a specific page to listen to a station; places the bookmark on a desired page to listen and store the station; and slides the bookmark up or down to control the volume."-- via We Make Money Not Art

"TiVo upgraded its service to let about 1 million of its subscribers instantly respond to specially coded advertising. For example, after watching an ad for an automobile or family vacation, users can ask to have a brochure sent to their home. In addition, ads embedded with special "tags" will pop up as small pictures, sporting branded logos, even when users are fast-forwarding thought those commercials. "-- Washington Post via Lost Remote

Also, "Japan is looking at making skipping commercials illegal, as a violation of the country’s copyright law" (Engadget); and a new study reveals that "women most often made the decision to buy the DVR, and understand how to work it better than men and love the DVR for being easier than a VCR." (AdJab)

Another one of those lonely bottles that talk to their owners. "The SIMpill medicine bottle uses SMS tech to monitor patients’ medicine-taking habits, alerting patients or their caregivers via text message when they miss a prescribed dose."--Iconoculture via Cool Business Ideas

I've been running Google AdSense ads on this blog for some time now and am even about to recieve my first check (ooha!), but there are a few things I wish for.

1. Sometimes Google is feeding no ad units at all and the placeholders become ugly gaping holes. While Google lets you pick an alternative image to fill in the placeholders, it would be nice if the script allowed collapsing them altogether.

2. On individual post pages, contextual targeting works great. On the main and archive pages with many regularly updated posts, the targeting often breaks down. The blog is about advertising and Google seems to recognize that, but when I write about a new Sharp dual-view display, I get fed ads for discounted LCD displays.

3. Reporting for individual ad units would be nice, too, so that publishers know if Google Links are as useful as the standard text ads.

These guys augmented a telescope to overlay historic (or futuristic) images of a landscape the 'scope is trained on. "The basic idea of the "timescope" is a virtual journey in time via telescope. The device contains additional controls that enable viewers to view a place in the past or future time through its eyepiece." I imagine you can embed virtual billboards, too.

It's been only a week or so since NY Times ran an article on multi-blade TV screens, and Sharp just announced it begins mass production of a dual-view LCD. "This LCD if used in a TV would allow viewers sitting to the right and left of a screen to watch different channels by simultaneously displaying different images into the right and left sides of the screen through a backlight." Twice as many commercials for the same money, eh.-- Digital Camera 101 Reviews

Since everyone was writing about this new ad format, I, too, am test-driving it. Near the sidebar's top, see eMiniMalls from Chitika, a format that allows comparison shopping within a banner ad unit. Nifty. Especially since Google's context targeting sucks as of late and the sidebar space just sits blank.

Fujitsu showed their prototype of the film substrate-based bendable color electronic paper with an image memory function. "The new electronic paper features vivid color images that are unaffected even when the screen is bent, and features an image memory function that enables continuous display of the same image without the need for electricity."-- press release via i4u

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this wonderful dancing robo-chef who works one block down from the office on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis (he'll also be at the Twins game later this week). The chef sits in a trailer and promotes a new Au Bon Pain bakery cafe nearby. The guy who came to pick him up last night told me it takes 2-3 days to program the dude to lipsync and move along with each new song they load up. More detailed pics : the head (notice the wear and tear in the corner of his mouth), the computer (it sings, too), and the entire trailer.

Coupons' CEO Jeffrey Weitzman said that starting next month marketers will be able to show their customers short video advertisement on Coupons’ Digital FSI distribution platform and offer them a cents-off coupon for the product aftewards.-- DMNews via AdPulp

Now that the cell phones outnumber landlines even in the US, we are seeing more and more elaborate advertising strategies targeting our little friends. As AdAge writes, "Along with McDonald’s, marketers including Masterfoods, Timex, Coca-Cola Co., Heineken and Johnson & Johnson are readying promotions that encompass everything from mobile games to ring-tone giveaways and text-in trivia contests and sweepstakes." And then, of course, there is plain old mobile telemarketing. Can't wait till they (well, we) start beaming infomercials on that uber-geeky head-mounted display of mine.

France Telecom’s wireless unit, Orange SA, will soon roll out a new mobile video service that will let cellular phone subscribers view TV, movies, photos and broadband Internet content with a big screen viewing effect using Kopin-enabled [head mounted displays]. Kopin Corp., the largest U.S. manufacturer of microdisplays for mobile consumer electronics and military applications, has received an order for CyberDisplay 230K microdisplays from MicroOptical for this application. Orange will bundle a MicroOptical binocular video eyewear with Samsung’s SGH-D600 cell phone as part of its new Orange World wireless multimedia service."-- Digital Camera @ 101 Reviews, press release

Kopin is already working on intergrating its displays into console gaming (press release).

"I have reason to believe that Apple is currently working on a video iPod to counter the Sony PSP. (My guess is that we might even see it in time for Christmas.) When the video iPod hits the streets, Apple will have an iPod product that plays each of the media formats (music, pictures, video) represented in its iLife suite."-- John "Hannibal" Stokes @ ArsTechnica (via Urban Intelligence)

"Ethertouch is working with the likes of Nokia and Microsoft to create applications for its technology, which can sense an operator’s finger movements in 3D. It aims to replace conventional human machine interfaces such as keypads or mice with non-tactile control via motions or gestures that will enable uses to simplypoint at a desired area of a display screen and zoom in on the relevant section."--The Engineer via We Make Money Not Art

"A research team from Sony Corp and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research has developed a new type of display panel that is extremely thin and flexible enough to be rolled up like a piece of paper, with an industry-high resolution of 79 dots per inch (dpi). Sony aims to commercialize products based on the new display technology, which can be applied to televisions and mobile phones, around 2010."-- Forbes

"A high school in Vail will become Arizona's first all-wireless, all-laptop public school this fall. The 350 students at the school will not have traditional textbooks. Instead, they will use electronic and online articles as part of more traditional teacher lesson plans."-- My Way News

"Time Warner Cable will soon begin testing a system designed by software firm Invidi Technologies that uses the digital set-top cable box to track what each TV in any house has on. It's expected to go into a household test by year end, with other cable companies following in 2006. By analyzing where a viewer channel surfs, Invidi says the system can figure out the age, gender, and probable interests of the viewer. Most important, the system then matches TV ads to the consumer based on what might actually interest them."-- Business Week

Wired: "All across the country, chalkboards are being ditched in favor of interactive, computer-driven whiteboards that allow students and teachers to share assignments, surf the web and edit video using their fingers as pens." These things are now installed in more than 150,00 U.S. classrooms. Manufacturers: Numonics, PolyVision, Promethean, Smart Technologies.

With schools selling ad space on school buses and collecting money for naming rights, it must be only a matter of time till they let advertisers play commercials on the smartboards. I'd say this will work great for negative campaigning. I can see Pepsi (or Coke) running a sponsorship jingle "This boring math problem was brought to you by that other cola drink."

Adverblog: "Ogilvy has signed a deal with Eyetools to test email campaigns by looking at what people look or ignore. Using a camera embedded in the monitor, OgilvyOne will follow eye movement patterns of people reading commercial email." Check out Eytools' blog, too.

"Researchers at the Diffusion Group predicted this week that the U.S. podcast audience will climb from 840,000 last year to 56 million by 2010. By that time, three-quarters of all people who own portable digital music players will listen to podcasts, up from less than 15 percent last year, the digital entertainment research group said."--CNET via Urban Intelligence

Reuters writes about an Italian winery that is about to put talking labels an all of its bottles. The labels, consisting of a chip implanted in the bottle, could be listened to with a small device about the size of a cigarette pack in the wine shop. The content varies from music to wine's history. Labels designed by Modulgraf.--via Gizmodo

"Secure optical data storage could soon literally be at your fingertips thanks to work being carried out in Japan. Yoshio Hayasaki and his colleagues have discovered that data can be written into a human fingernail by irradiating it with femtosecond laser pulses."-- Optics.org

"Apple's integration of podcasting into its iTunes software has propelled the grassroots movement into the mainstream, but marketers say there are challenges to overcome before ad dollars begin pouring into podcasters' pockets. Among those challenges are finding ways of measuring listening and of efficiently buying ads on a medium that has so far been made up of small, fragmented audiences."-- ClickZ

"Here's the seriously trippy part about the new screen, which Deep Light plans to introduce at next winter's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: multiple "blades" of video enable one screen to show different programs to different viewers, at the same time." They are also making multiplexing screens that display 3-D without anaglyph glasses. -- NY Times

One more entry into our arsenal of toilet advertising tactics - the talking roll holder (around $30 in British money). "The Talking TP works very simply. Hit the record button, leave a suitable message such as “we’re trying to conserve paper, please use both sides!” and then place inside a toilet roll. When the paper is pulled, your message bleats out via a concealed in-built speaker."-- T3 via Gizmodo

"PixelRoller is a paint roller that paints pixels, designed as a rapid response printing tool specifically to print digital information such as imagery or text onto a great range of surfaces. The content is applied in continuous strokes by the user. PixelRoller can be seen as a handheld “printer”, based around the ergonomics of a paintroller, that lets you create the images by your own hand."-- Random International

More canvertising. "Ball Corporation is launching a new advertising medium that allows beverage can tabs and ends to carry customized messaging, bringing added value to the beverage can. The laser-incised tab is a solid, colored tab that provides space for a small "billboard" for brand identity, advertising or promotional messaging."-- press release via Yenra

"Advercan, a new can-top label for soda, power drink and beer cans, is the world's first Can Top Media Campaign. Five years in development, the six-layer plastic Advercan label serves as both an advertising medium and a "Cleancap" designed to keep the can top clean from the bottling plant to the store shelf. With the ability to print a message on both sides of the label, marketerscan create a variety of marketing strategies with this unique new media."-- press release

"Digital video recording in the summer isn't up to the same levels of usage during the regular season--and that could be good news for advertisers. Recent data from TiVo shows that more viewers are primarily watching prime-time shows live in the summer than during the regular season. Of the 25 top-rated shows in TiVo's universe of 3.3 million homes, 21 were primarily viewed live during the summer. This pattern is the exact opposite of the regular season, when 21 shows were primarily recorded, and only four were seen primarily live."-- Media Post